Lost in the Shadows
by The Neon Catz
Summary: He was all she ever wanted. The only other thing she could have dreamed of was for him to love her back. .:NeonClan Writing Contest May 2015:. .:Rated T for violence:.


**This, my friends, is just something that happened to be within my strange, strange mind. I hope you enjoy it. And please excuse the gore I have towards the end. It's a bit intense, even for Warriors.**

* * *

Look at them, traipsing around without a care in the world. How dare he be with _her_? That crowfood-eating poser could never be a suitable mate. With those narrow hips and delicate frame, he would be disappointed to never have kits.

"Applebloom." I angled my ears, listening intently. "Would you like to be my mate?"

"You don't deserve him!" I yowled. But alas, my warning was wasted on her ears—how could such a dense she-cat as herself hear the brokenhearted cries of one of StarClan's warriors?

"I would love to," she mewed, pressing her muzzle against his shoulder as she licked him intimately. Oh, how she licked him. _No one_ licked Darkstorm that way. No one except for _me_. How could he even go after her in the first place? She fights and hunts worse than a kittypet, and is utterly useless when it comes to herbs! Literally nothing she does could ever be considered worthwhile.

Lost in my thoughts, I hardly noticed them wonder off to a small, secluded clearing. Their cries echoed through the forest, scattering the birds and rodents feeding off the occasional nuts, berries, and insects before the leaf-bare set in.

He had her pinned down, nipping intimately at her neck. Applebloom's slender striped tail lashed back and forth wildly, threatening to knock down Darkstorm. It sickened me to see them so close. The way they intertwined so perfectly together. It was as if Applebloom knew I was there, and she did it all just to spite me.

Beside myself with indescribable rage and jealousy, I trekked back to the starry pines of what StarClan pretended was ShadowClan. Lines of starry cats backed away in near panic as I stormed into the leader's den.

It should've been _my_ den, after all.

* * *

 _The tabby she-cat slipped nimbly through the towering pines. She tracked the mouse with ease, pouncing on it just as it considered it was being followed. Triumphant, she carried her catch back to the camp, a spring in her step._

 _"Nice work Amberpaw," her mentor, Lightheart, mewed appreciatively. Eyes glowing, she set down the mouse in the fresh-kill pile._

 _"Thanks," she purred, making her way towards the apprentices' den. There she saw Darkpaw smoothing his fur._

 _"Hi Darkpaw!" she meowed, running over to him. He rolled his eyes, beginning to get up._

 _"What do you want?" he mewed, fairly annoyed._

 _"I-I was just wondering," Amberpaw began nervously, "if you wanted to go hunting with me. Y-You know, before our warrior ceremonies."_

 _Rolling his eyes, Darkpaw got up, stalking towards the entrance._

 _"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Amberpaw exclaimed, jumping up and down after Darkpaw._

 _"Calm down," he snapped, sobering his clanmate. "You'll scare off all the prey like that."_

 _Venturing into the pine forest, the two cats split up, scenting for prey._

 _"I've found something," Amberpaw muttered under her breath, padding stealthily towards the edge of the forest. Darkpaw followed her, keeping low to the ground._

 _Suddenly, the she-cat shot forward, closing in quickly on a plump mouse nibbling on a nut. Within moments, the mouse was limp in her jaws. She trotted back to Darkpaw, satisfied at the look of surprise on his face._

 _"That was impressive," he grumbled, angling his ears in search of nearby prey. Scenting something, he prowled after a robin nesting in a low tree. The scent of prey filled his senses, as did the ambition of beating Amberpaw paw, so much so that he failed to notice the border into ThunderClan as he crossed it. Sinking his teeth into the robin's neck, he held up his catch, showing off to the she-cat._

 _"Hey, you!" Jumping slightly, Darkpaw turned to see a ThunderClan warrior standing tall before him._

 _"I-I'm sorry," he stammered, backing away towards the border. "I'll leave the bird, if you want."_

 _"Forget the bird!" Swiping the bird away with his huge paw, the white tom stared intimidatingly into Darkpaw's eyes. "You came into our territory, and you stole our prey! What do you have to say for yourself?"_

 _"Leave him alone!" Amberpaw ran out from behind a cluster of trees, preparing to bring her claws down on the tom's muzzle. Dodging swiftly, he managed to have only a small cut across his nose._

 _"Oh, so you have to have your little_ friend _come protect you, huh?" the tom sneered, advancing on Darkpaw._

 _"I said,_ leave him alone _!" Coming from behind him, Amberpaw jumped on the white tom, sinking her claws into his shoulder. He roared in pain, trying to shake her off of him. Not wanting to be left out of the fray, Darkpaw swiped at the tom, scoring his claws against the tom's face._

 _"Snowtail, what's going on here?" The three cats froze, turning to face the powerful gray tabby she-cat, her green eyes blazing with fury._

 _"Ivystar!" Snowtail exclaimed, scrambling away from the two apprentices. "These two passed onto our territory! I was just taking care of them!"_

 _"Two...apprentices? And you're bleeding?" Ivystar rolled her eyes at the tom, padding over to the apprentices. "What happened, you two?"_

 _"W-Well, I, um..." Darkpaw stammered nervously._

 _"I'm so sorry!" Amberpaw interrupted, rushing in front of the ThunderClan leader. "We were just hunting and I accidentally chased a bird over here! My friend tried to stop me, but I accidentally ran into, er..."_

 _"Snowtail," the white tom supplied._

 _"Yes, Snowtail. I got scared and tried to attack him and I'm so sorry this all happened! Just please don't kill us or anything!" Her voice wavering, Amberpaw began to cower behind Darkpaw. Ivystar's gaze softened as she came closer to the younger she-cat._

 _"It's okay," she soothed. "It was a mistake; I understand that." Drawing herself up to her full height, she turned to Snowtail. "Please, take these two back to their camp. Explain to Icestar what happened."_

 _Grumbling, the white tom trotted with the apprentices into the ShadowClan territory, his tail lashing angrily. "You'd better be glad Ivystar came along. Otherwise I'd skin you two quicker than you could say mouse."_

* * *

Ah, those were the days. Back when we were just apprentices, not a care in the world other than whose turn it was to change the elders' bedding. It wasn't too long after we earned our warrior names. Just a couple quarter moons, given our little escapade. That stubborn tom was given the name Darkstorm, and I was given Amberthorn. Lightheart—my mentor at the time—went on to become Lightstar once Icestar passed. His first deputy, Swiftblaze, was stranded in a blizzard one leaf-bare and never returned to camp with his hunting patrol. By that time Lightstar had used up three of lives. I was appointed deputy, and that was how things stayed for a good several seasons. At least, until things turned sour one green-leaf.

* * *

 _Amberthorn darted through the shadowy pine trees. A tiny sliver of moon hung low in the sky, illuminating each shape with a soft whitish glow. Rogues had threatened ShadowClan, demanding their territory, but Lightstar hadn't paid attention. That was just one moon ago. Now they had attacked, and were trying to drive out the Clan cats._

Swoosh. _A bulky shape had begun to run alongside Amberthorn. Glancing over to her left, she was able to make out the striking orange fur and piercing ice-blue eyes of Ace, leader of these StarClan forsaken rogues. Willing her legs to carry her farther and faster, she managed to sprint towards a tree. Digging her claws into the bark, the she-cat perched on one of the lower branches._

 _Ace passed by without a second glance, no doubt after some other unlucky cat. Waiting for his pawsteps to die out, Amberthorn slid down the tree's thick trunk. Landing with a soft_ thud _on the forest floor, she began to retreat to the camp. Kits and elders were still there, as well as about half of the warriors who'd stayed behind to protect them._

 _The ear-piercing cries of combat filled Amberthorn's senses_ — _the reek of blood was enough to make any sane cat lose their mind. Sprinting into the camp, all she could see were the still bodies of her clanmates_ — _Willowpaw, a young she-cat who was just about to become a warrior, laying outside the elders' den; Poppystem, whose once-swollen belly was bloodied and had tiny bodies spilling out; Oakstreak, her very own brother, hanging from a ledge near the leader's den._

 _Infuriated, she charged into the fight, ripping apart any rogue she came across. Their throats were met with snapping jaws, torn out as blood splattered across her face. Thorn-sharp claws were sent flying from tail to chin, slicing them open as guts flowed out. Any unfortunate survivors of her onslaught of rage were met with a flurry of claws gouging out their eyes. Squishy goo oozed out of their sockets as the cats sank to the ground, twitching slightly before finally dying a slow and painful death._

 _All but blinded with a bloody red haze, Amberthorn was pinned down by powerful paws, claws digging into her shoulders. Squinting her eyes open, she was able to make out the scarred face of Ace._

 _"Get off of me so I can kill you!" she spat, struggling against his powerful hold._

 _"Oh, so a puny little_ bitch _like you can try to escape? I don't think so."_

 _Looking around frantically, Amberthorn began to call for her clanmates' aid. "Help!" she yowled, trying to use her hind paws to claw at Ace's underside._

 _"Help! Please!" Wriggling, she saw Darkstorm run into the camp. Hope sparking in her eyes, she tried to call him over._

 _"Darkstorm! Darkstorm!" she screamed. His head turned away from her, towards_ — _Applebloom._

 _For moons that she-cat had been padding after Darkstorm like he was going to save all four Clans. Amberthorn had absolutely hated her from the moment they were kitted, but having them both go after the same tom made things even worse. And to think, he would save Applebloom_ — _a cat who's basically useless_ — _over Amberthorn_ — _a cat who knows how to use her claws._

 _"Darkstorm!" The gray tom ran towards Applebloom, who had been trapped in a corner. It was as though Amberthorn was completely invisible to him! "Darkstorm!"_

 _Ace dug his claws deeper into Amberthorn's shoulders, running his tongue over his teeth before baring his fangs, coming in for the kill._

 _"_ DARKSTORM!"

* * *

He had betrayed me. Darkstorm had left me to die, all for some stupid she-cat who should have been left to die anyway! I was deputy, for StarClan's sake! I sometimes wonder what even caused me to fall in love with that thickheaded tom. I could have— _should have_ —been leader one day. But now, all of that is lost, because Darkstorm had the audacity to just leave me to die!

Rising to my feet, I bounded out of the leader's den, through the starry pines, and came down to the actual ShadowClan camp. There he was, sharing a nest with her even! And they've only been together for less than a day.

Descending next to Darkstorm's sleeping figure, I crept into his mind. It was a black abyss, just about. But there was something warm about it. In the middle lay Darkstorm, groggily rising to his feet. It was then that he realized I was here too.

"What are you doing here?" he asked warily, taking a few steps backwards.

"To do something I should have done a _long_ time ago." With unmatched swiftness, I sprinted at Darkstorm, my own starry shape passing right through his solid body. A cloud of darkness hung in his mind. His eyes held a murderous gaze. I smiled wickedly.

"Now you'll know what it's like to want to kill," I snarled. "You'll know what it's like to strive for everything you've _ever_ wanted, and have it all fall down!"

* * *

 **And... scene. So, what'd you guys think? You like it? I hope so 'cause this honestly was a bit rushed. I spent the latter half of May squeezing in time to work on this, plus adding little bits and pieces to my other stories. Regardless of whether you loved it or wanted it to die, please leave a review. I appreciate each and every one of them!**


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